While the shrimp were grilling, Fang Jun had already made his way downstairs.
He arrived carrying several large bottles of drinks, with An Yuexin following closely behind.
“Old Mo, we’re here to spice things up!”
An Yuexin was considered a local—his mother’s surname was Lu, making him part of Lu Xiaohua’s clan.
Locals mostly hung out with other locals.
Even if some people didn’t know each other well, they’d at least met a few times or had some distant family ties.
So as soon as Fang Jun showed up, he went all out, warmly greeting everyone present.
Even if he didn’t know their names, he acted like they were close brothers.
He was basically a social butterfly with a bit of a wild streak.
Meanwhile, after exchanging greetings with Lu Xiaohua, An Yuexin moved over to stand beside Lin Mo.
“Lin Mo, sorry for dragging you into this mess.”
An Yuexin’s face showed a hint of embarrassment before he poured a cup of cola for Lin Mo.
“We’re all classmates. As long as everyone’s fine in the end, that’s what matters.”
By this time, Fang Jun had finished his round of socializing and came back, slinging an arm around An Yuexin’s shoulders.
“I’m telling you, just go ahead and bow to Lin Mo already.”
Lin Mo couldn’t help but laugh. “Stop messing around. Tell me about you and the girls from Class 15.”
Fang Jun laughed too and then pointed to a group of guys sitting opposite them.
“They’re all from Class 3.”
The guys looked a bit surprised—they knew Fang Jun was from Class 5, and An Yuexin was too.
Xie Yufei, who had been quietly grilling chicken wings nearby, perked up at the news.
When he realized the juicy gossip involved their own class, his interest shot through the roof.
“It’s someone from our class? Come on, spill it! Who is it?”
Fang Jun glanced at An Yuexin’s expression and quickly said, “This is still too early to tell. Let’s not ask too many questions or we might blow it.”
The eager onlookers weren’t happy to hear that.
“Hey, maybe we can help. Since she’s from our class, we probably know what she likes.”
Whether they meant well or just wanted some fun was unclear.
An Yuexin looked a bit torn.
He wanted to get some intel too, but with so many people around, if they talked too much, it might reach Mai Chuwen’s ears by tonight.
Still, he was curious.
Lin Mo spoke up, “Don’t overthink it. Take it step by step. Don’t let them throw off your plans or mess with your head.”
That calmed An Yuexin down quite a bit.
Xie Yufei also knew it wasn’t wise to push the topic further—everyone would just get uncomfortable—so he changed the subject.
“By the way, you mentioned dragging Lin Mo into this mess. What happened exactly?”
Xie Yufei was quite curious about this “brother-in-law.”
Whether or not Xie Yuling had a high opinion of herself, the “Ice Queen” reputation definitely made her hard to approach.
That much was clear.
Fang Jun glanced at An Yuexin again, and An Yuexin nodded in agreement.
“So here’s what happened...”
The group listened as they grilled food.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo was busy peeling the shells off black tiger prawns. With just a few quick cuts of his small knife, he pried open the tough shell to reveal the bright red, tender meat inside.
After all, black tiger prawns weren’t like regular shrimp; their shells were a bit tougher.
It’s not very convenient to grill the shrimp with the shells on, so the only option was to grill them first and then peel off the shells.
After that, a layer of honey and barbecue sauce was brushed on.
In Guangdong, it’s customary to use honey in barbecue.
The sweetness of honey isn’t overwhelming; it actually enhances the flavor.
If grilled just right, it can even form a crispy crust on the outside.
Applying the honey was the final step. Once the crispy crust had formed, Lin Mo handed the shrimp over to Xie Yuling.
“Here, give it a try.”
Xie Yuling had been sitting nearby, waiting patiently. Since there wasn’t enough space, she sat just a little behind and beside Lin Mo.
When Lin Mo offered her the grilled shrimp, her eyes curved into a smile, but with so many people around, she remained reserved and spoke sparingly.
“Thank you.”
She took the shrimp with both hands and began eating it in small bites.
“Take your time, there’s more.”
At that moment, Fang Jun was telling stories that had everyone’s attention, so no one noticed the small exchange between the two.
“You guys don’t know, back during military training, Lin Mo actually arm-wrestled and beat every instructor in the group. Even the chief instructor told him to consider enrolling in a military academy.”
“Seriously?!” someone chimed in.
“Hey, I’m not kidding. Lin Mo’s that impressive.”
Fang Jun was like Lin Mo’s biggest fan, enthusiastically bragging about him.
Even though it was all true, many people found it hard to believe.
Several students eagerly expressed their desire to arm-wrestle Lin Mo.
Lin Mo raised a shrimp skewer in response. “Wait until I finish grilling these.”
The two skewers of shrimp in Lin Mo’s hands were grilled to a perfect crisp on the outside. Once done, he handed them to Xie Yuling again.
“Let’s go. Time for the arm wrestling.”
Lin Mo stood up, and many others followed suit, though some stayed behind to continue grilling.
Xie Yuling, holding several skewers of chicken wings and pork belly, took a seat right where Lin Mo had been.
Since Lin Mo had left, she wanted to grill some food for him.
She was eating black tiger shrimp that had long been peeled. The meat was fibrous and firm, with a great texture and a fresh, delicious flavor.
At that moment, two girls quietly sat down beside Xie Yuling.
“Ahem, Xie Yuling, how far have you and Lin Mo gotten?”
“?”
Xie Yuling turned toward Lu Xiaohua, a bit stunned.
What do you mean how far? What are you talking about?!
I don’t understand.
“Lin Mo’s so handsome, and he’s so gentle with you. There’s no way you’re not a couple.”
Hearing that, Xie Yuling’s face instantly flushed red.
But she still shook her head.
“We’re not a couple.”
Though she denied it, they were all girls; it wasn’t hard to tell the truth.
Still, they didn’t press further.
One of the girls suddenly asked, “Is Lin Mo good at school?”
That was a reasonable question.
After all, they were all students, and in the ivory tower, academic performance naturally drew more attention.
Lu Xiaohua glanced toward the crowd arm-wrestling in the distance.
“He’s probably more of an athlete. Not very tall, but pretty strong.”
Xie Yuling usually didn’t talk much with others, but when the topic turned to Lin Mo, she unknowingly joined the conversation.
“No, his grades are excellent. Even better than mine.”
Hearing this, the two girls couldn’t help but widen their eyes in surprise.
Xie Yuling was famous not just for her looks, but also for her excellent grades.
Good looks combined with any other advantage is a winning combo, but looks alone just won’t cut it.
Xie Yuling’s academic performance was outstanding; she was always a top student at her previous school.
But someone who outperformed Xie Yuling in studies? That’s practically a myth.
Seeing the two girls a bit taken aback, Xie Yuling nodded.
“He even tutors me in advanced math.”
Upon hearing this, the first thing the two girls thought of wasn’t advanced math.
Lu Xiaohua couldn’t help but squint, “So it’s a tutoring play, huh?”
Lin Mo glanced over, catching Lu Xiaohua’s expression—one that looked like Anya’s—and Xie Yuling’s completely baffled face.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
